BLACK RIVER --
Lutheran West finished off the year with a loss to a subpar Black River club, playing out the string on a season that started with promise but finished with disappointment. The team struggled in their finish to the year losing five of their last six games. Last night they lost to a Black River team who entered the game with only three conference wins, and in doing so, ended up tied for second place in the PAC-12 Stripes Division.

Despite the unhappy finish to the season however, Lutheran West has plenty to feel good about. The team returns all three of its main pitchers—juniors Aaron Geye, Greg Kunze, and Eric Szczepinski. Geye and Kunze weren’t just good in 2013, they were two of the top pitchers in the conference. West also returns the majority of their best hitters—Szczepinski led the team in hitting at .438, junior Derek Naim was second on the team in slugging percentage at .552 behind senior CJ Griffin (.580), junior Collin McCartney was second on the team behind Szczepinski with .475 on base percentage. Geye was only behind Naim and Griffin with seven extra base hits.

West will struggle to replace Griffin’s flash at shortstop and the outfield duo of seniors Eric Lewis in center and Tyler Cerny in left. Cerny grew into a solid leadoff hitter by the end of the year, and Lewis was top notch all year in center.

Yet, none of those three will be impossible to replace so Lutheran West should have high hopes for next year. High school baseball is all about pitching, and with Geye, Kunze and Szczepinski returning, Lutheran West baseball should look forward to another excellent year in 2014.